Fireflies
by oOTinaOo
Summary: A night out of town, surrounded by fireflies... Written for a summer contest.


**Fireflies**

With a content sigh, M-21 leaned into the trunk of the deciduous tree. He could feel the bark through his thin button-down shirt, and instead of the ever present exhaust gases in the city, here it smelled of grass and greenery. Lazily, the enhanced human let his gaze wander across the meadow in front of him. Small fireflies seemingly wanted to imitate the star-filled sky high above them.

M-21 felt a smile find its way on his face. This was so… Peaceful. Yes, peaceful was the right word even though Tao and the two human boys made so much noise. It was a surprise that some fireflies still lingered in this meadow. He, himself, had settled a few meters aside, but he didn't feel left out or lonely.

M-21 snorted as Tao passed by. With a big smile on his face, he was running around on the meadow like a maniac with the butterfly net held high above his head. M-21 was sure that he wouldn't catch a single firefly like this, but the glance he caught Tao sending toward the two human boys told the werewolf that catching something wasn't Tao's intention. The two boys were literally on the ground because they were laughing so hard, gasping for breath. Ikhan even had to wipe away a few tears of laughter because of Tao's antics.

A bit further to the other side of the flower field was Takeo showing a firefly he caught to Suyi and Regis. M-21 wondered how the other enhanced human could try to catch the little bugs. They seemed so small, so fragile! If he would try to catch them, he would clearly kill those living lanterns. Even keeping his body to human strength level when around other people was sometimes hard. For example, as Yonsu attacked him a while ago on the school's ground, he reacted without thinking. His instinct of self preservation nullified any other thoughts. And how should he catch those fireflies with these hands that could crumble walls if even human children had to be careful not to hurt the insects?

M-21 inwardly admired Takeo for his trust in the restraint of his own power. Maybe it had to do with the way Takeo was enhanced? His eye-hand-coordination was more than perfect as it had to be for a sniper. Nonetheless, M-21 didn't trust himself to not harm the bugs so he refrained from catching them even though he observed the children playing.

Only heaven knew how the kids had managed to talk them into leaving town and catching fireflies. M-21 just remembered that the human children had stood in front of the enhanced humans as they presented that idea. Meanwhile Frankenstein had glared over at them so they had no choice but to agree. And why did they have to actually catch those bugs? As far as M-21 knew from Regis, their summer homework in biology was writing about the life cycle of fireflies. A book should have adequate information. But as it was an activity they could all participate in together, it seemed to be enough for them to actually go a bit over the top and enjoy it. They had even insisted on having a midnight snack, and so Seira was helping Frankenstein to put the things up while Rai stayed with them, probably drinking a cup of tea.

Regis was now with the two human boys, who wanted to get him to actually catch one of the fireflies. The young Noble however didn't want to, perhaps because jumping over a meadow to catch bugs wasn't elegant enough. With a smirk on his face, M-21 settled back with his head against the bark, watching now the little points of light over his head through the leaves. Somehow, M-21 was glad he tagged along even though he had been rather reluctant in the beginning.

A soft noise let him perk up his ears. How did that person come this close without him noticing? Maybe it had to do with the fact that she was one of the few people he had subconsciously put into the "don't need to be wary of" category? The human children and the inhabitants of his home belonged to that category. Well, perhaps not Frankenstein. Or Tao. They both were dangerous, but in a different way.

All he did to acknowledge her presence was to turn his head her way, but that was everything she needed to smile at him. He could see her holding a big jar, tightly closed with a lid and a small firefly inside.

"You didn't try catching one, so I thought, I could at least show you one," Yuna said and stretched her arms out a bit to present the jar towards him. But she stopped halfway in her movements, her face aghast. "You're not afraid of bugs, are you? That's not the reason you're staying here?"

For an instant, M-21 just stared at her, before he snorted in amusement. How did this child come to that conclusion?

"What do you intend to do with those fireflies you've caught? Take them home?"

"Set them free, of course!"

For once, M-21 saw Yuna show an indignant face as if she was aghast that he could even think they would leave the fireflies in their prison. After her words, they both fell silent. Of course a kind girl like her wouldn't imprison animals. Should he apologize? Was she expecting him to do so? In moments like this, M-21 wished he had Tao's social skills.

While still remaining in an uncomfortable silence, he saw Rai and Seira head toward the meadow out of the corner of his eyes. So they would soon be called to eat the midnight snack Frankenstein was surely bringing to perfection at the moment. Perhaps it was for the best that they would be called since he didn't know how to fix the normally happy girl's now unsmiling face.

"Did you know that they find each other in this way? I mean, they glow so they can find a partner."

M-21 did know. But he was thankful that the girl chose to start their conversation anew as he wasn't that talkative. So he inclined his head slightly to show her that she should go on as she looked up at him expectantly.

"Every species of firefly has its own kind of glowing pattern, so they find the right partner. And I think humans are like that, too."

"What do you mean?" M-21 asked, now inquisitive. As much as he strained his brain cells, there was no connection between 'humans' and 'glowing' for him. Sometimes he couldn't follow the human children with their agile thoughts. But then again, it wasn't just the children. Tao was the same, too. At least the children didn't think about ideas like forcing him to wear a mask.

"People glow, too, figuratively speaking. It's what draws us to each other."

"You mean to say that you have the same glow pattern as Shinwoo because you are friends?" Really, such a lively imagination that girl had. M-21 wanted to shake his head in disbelief, but he felt his lips curl up instead. To tell the truth, deep down in his heart, he liked the idea of being connected with other living beings even if it was only in the vivid fantasy of a human girl.

"No, more the other way round. Because we have something in common, glow the right way, we were able to become friends." Yuna stopped and looked up. Even though it was dark, M-21 could see how her cheeks flushed as blood surged to her face. She quickly turned her head away as if she was looking over to the rest of the group, scattered over the meadow. "Sorry, I'm talking nonsense."

"I don't think that it's nonsense. In a way…"

"Look! Look at that, Ajussi!" Yuna interrupted him, and M-21 could feel her hand gripping his arm. He wanted to ask her what had happened, but he didn't need to as his gaze followed hers. Rai stood in the middle of the meadow, ethereal and motionless. But what seemed to have grabbed Yuna's attention were the fireflies that lingered near the Noblesse. It almost looked like the fireflies would be dancing around Rai, illuminating him in their soft light.

He felt a tug on his arm as Yuna had stepped forward subconsciously but forgot that she was still holding his arm. Well, he wasn't even sure that she noticed it as she was clearly enchanted with what she saw on the meadow. Her eyes were large, sparkling with joy, as she turned around to let go of his arm and smile at him.

Actually, M-21 had no intention to head over to where Rai was standing. He didn't know, either, how the Noblesse had called the fireflies, but considering that M-21 still thought it was possible that Rai had called him back from the dead, it didn't surprise him. Then, he caught Yuna glancing back and forth between Rai and him. M-21 sighed inwardly but advanced to the middle of the flower field, soon overtaken by the girl. He stopped next to Takeo a few steps away from Rai and the enthralled children.

"Wow! How are you doing that?"

"Don't move too fast, or you'll flush the fireflies away."

"It's beautiful."

"Yeah, it is," Shinwoo whispered after Suyi's words. For once, he had stopped fidgeting and was quiet. He was showing the same tranquil expression as the other children; even Tao had dropped his butterfly net.

For a moment, M-21 bathed in the serene silence, enjoyed the closeness of this group that didn't required any words as they watched the fireflies dance around the Noblesse.

And surrounded by glowing lights, Rai smiled.


End file.
